The landscape of
the Indian subcontinent, much of it continuously inhabited over three millennia, is an enigma in the
diverse images it presents to its viewer. Amidst the great rivers, mountains, hilly plateaus, and plains
exist an unchanging rural landscape nurturing a timeless way of life, fast-paced teeming metropolises of
colonial origin, and medieval cities exhibiting schizophrenic personalities as they grapple with
modernity. There may be no such entity as the Indian landscape, considering the tremendous plurality in
topography, flora, fauna, and cultural traditions. Yet an unmistakable thread of continuity in landscapes
of different regions is instantly recognizable. This thread weaves through regions with diverse ecological
systems, linguistic communities, and cultural groups, drawing them into distinct landscape patterns.
These patterns are best recognized in places that are venerated as sacred sites, attracting temple
building and pilgrimage on local and regional scales.
Travel to India unfolds numerous aspects of rich cultural heritage of the world’s oldest surviving
civilization. In the midst of busy thoroughfares in Indian cities, large shady trees shelter impromptu
shrines around which teeming traffic readily distributes itself. On crowded sidewalks mendicants sitting
with framed images of gods and goddesses are likely to interrupt the pedestrian flow. No matter where
the gods are housed—in wayside shrines or monumental temples—they attract devotees who visit them
regularly and tend them with loving care. These spaces are an inescapable and meaningful part of the
public realm. If large and significant, they become sites of annual festivals and public processions,
contributing to the civic realm of the Indian city. Sub-continent-sized India has over a million square
miles of scenic sights; the world’s highest mountains, most awesome rivers and most fabulous valleys.
More than five thousand years of continuous civilizations — some the most sophisticated of their epoch
— have left us a legacy of temples, monuments, palaces and sculptural masterpieces of inimitable
esthetic grandeur. A bewildering variety of religions, sects, cultures, languages, traditions and customs
was produced by thousands of years of uninterrupted historic process. And yet all these have somehow
produced a unity of cultural traditions and a modern nation.
Eternal Hindu ethos – Atithi Devo Bhav (guests are like gods) – makes India travel a pleasant experience.
And modern infrastructure and conscious efforts to promote tourism in India have now ensured easy
access to every traveler to study and enjoy India’s strongest attraction lying in an unmatched interplay
of contrasts. Nowhere do the past and present coexist in more colorful promiscuity. Folklore, native arts,
traditional events abound. A prodigious diversity of dress and manners keep us aware of a different
world. Tour to India unfolds a mind-boggling vista of cultural diversity. If a traveler is willing enough to
go to Darjeeling, a hilly, tea-planting resort town close to the eastern edge of Nepal, he / she can get to
see the tip of the icy peak of Mount Everest. There one stands cocooned in a blanket to watch a sunrise
without parallel on earth. From such heights and dazzling panoramas, the traveler can go to the other
extreme by seeking out the Kolar gold fields in south India and plunging 10,600 feet into a hole, one of
the deepest in the world, which goes down seven times farther than the Empire State Building goes up.
The hardy tourist can also range between the blazing deserts of Rajasthan to a charming town called
Cherrapunji in Assam which has the reputation of being the wettest place in the world. Naturally, every
tourist - sightseer, fun- seeker, photographer, sportsman, mountaineer, archeologist, and anthropologist
- finds incomparable rewards in a visit to India. Optima Travels introduces a traveler to the vast Indian
sub-continent which stands like a colossus on the world map. India has a legacy to be proud of, a vision
to look forward to, a culture to inspire and a heritage to share. India ranges from the mightiest
mountains in the world to the clammiest of jungles and the balmiest of beaches. Optima Travels, a
reputed Indian travel agency, serves a tourist by customizing
India tour by theme,
duration,
region etc
and, thus, emerges as a trustworthy India travel guide.